Ranting

29.2 Kbps!

DUh!!!?!!

Imagine the agony of waiting to have your post published.
Imagine having the wait 5 minutes to check on somebody else's website.
Picture yourself spending half of a 20-hour isp prepaid card within 2 days just because the connection is terrible.

Hay! Please lang.....suggest an internet connection na mabilis mag-process ng aplications!!!

This so called life.

This week have been a busy one. In between taking care of our son and my husband, my mom and I took care of some things to help out a loved one.

I do not want to go into details. All that I can share is that someone dear to our family is undergoing a really tough time. The source is more on a physical condition, but the effect is challenging him physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.

I can only hope for the best. But what I pray right now is for God to enlighten him and his family as well with the fact that this life that we have is just borrowed and the One who gave it to us can take it away anytime. It is only a matter of when He plans for it to happen.

God's way of thinking is far from ours. We can never tell what HE plans for us. All we know is that He has good reasons for everything that happens. And if only for that, my heart is calmed with His promise that He knows what's best for everyone.

But it won't hurt if you help me out in praying for my uncle.

First and Last

Another tag. This time from jing:

Participants:
1. Me and Mine 2. Creative in Me 3. Little Peanut 4. Pea in a Pod 5. Sugar Magnolias 6. Supermodel Wannabe 7. FunFierceFaboulous 8. A Sweet Taste of Life 9. My Simple Joys 10. In This Game of Life 11. Scribbles of My Life 12. angel's heaven13. My Pride & Joy...MY LIFE14. Istoryadora online -u can't shut me up! 15. The Adventures of Dong and Jing

First
* First real job: As an instructor for 2nd yr and 3rd yr engineering students
* First screen name: Denjing
* First funeral: I can' remember
* First pet: Hobbes, a Daschund dog
* First piercing: Ears
* First tattoo: None
* First credit card: Citibank
* First kiss: Parents
* First enemy: Hmm...I don't remember (forgive and forget right?

Last
* Last car ride: Last night
* Last kiss: Zye, our son.

Tagging sujee, maybelle, and jacque.

10 Random things about me

Tagged by Sujee

Actually, I have done this one in my Personal blog so instead of 10 random things about myself, I'll tell you 10 random things about denjing (me and my hubby). Besides, this blog is not entirely about me :)

RULES:
1. Each blogger starts with ten random facts/habits about themselves.
2. Bloggers that are tagged need to write on their own blog about their ten things and post these rules.
3. At the end of your blog, you need to choose 10 people to get tagged and list their breads.
4. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

Here are ten things about us:

1. We love watching movies. Before, we average on watching three movies a week. We had to cut down on our movie addiction because we need to save up on other things.
2. We both serve God through music.
3. We plan to retire at the age of 45.
4. We spent four years being boyfriend-girlfriend before we got married.
5. I learned to love onion rings because of him.
6. He learned a lot of songs (esecially the old ones) because of me.
7. We are aspiring entrepreneurs.
8. We are hands-on parents.
9. We make a good sales pair. I am in-charge of the planning, he is in-charge of the execution.
10. We met in school.

There. Tell me 10 things about you: Jing, Sheryl Ann, Toni, Kathycot, Divine, Mari and all n@wies who haven't done this post. Go ahead and share something about yourselves then let me know when you're done.

Random Things about Me

Tagged by Joanne

RULES:
1. Each blogger starts with ten random facts/habits about themselves.
2. Bloggers that are tagged need to write on their own blog about their ten things and post these rules.
3. At the end of your blog, you need to choose 10 people to get tagged and list their breads.
4. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

10 Random things about me:

1. I am proud to be a Born again Christian. People who have known me for quite some time may wonder why or would probably think I did it just because of husband. But the simple truth is : I have learned how much God loves me so I did what He wanted me to do.

2. I dream of having my collection of poems published.

3. I love teaching. How I wish I can go back to teaching. For me, teaching is not a profession, it is a commitment. Someday, maybe someday....

4. I love listening to Chico and Delamar's "The Morning Rush", long before the two became very famous.

5. I can memorize a song's melody and lyrics in a jiffy. And even if the song is already a has-been, I still remember it. (Pano kaya sumali sa Singing Bee????)

6. I am not a "kikay" person. I am not into chocolates or flowers, I'd choose blue over pink without a blink of an eye and I hate blow drying my hair before leaving the house (but I'm learning now...) The only reason I would have my hair undergo rebond is because I don't want to spend too much time fixing my hair.

7. I am a movie addict. Well, I was. But now I have to be more practical and choose the movies that I watch on the big screen. Hubby and I used to watch movies three times a week.

8. I can't be rushed when shopping or doing the grocery. It's because it takes me awhile to choose.

9. I always have a "Things to do" list. It's my way of organizing things and making sure everything gets done.

10. I am a Batman fan. Yes, while most love Superman, Batman is the ultimate fictional hero for me. (I don't have anything against Superman. But I have my own reasons bakit maka-Batman ako)

Hmmm...let's get to know the other people in my circle. Tagging Marie, Joy, Happy, and all you other bloggers who haven't done this. (Sorry, my blog is quite behind with the tags, it seems a lot of people have done this already...)

Next Attraction

Finalizing a few more details, but come this June we will be operational.

Start browsing though, if you have time. You may find something interesting too!

Something to celebrate

Husband got a very good news from one of his bosses.

In turn, it was good news for me as well.

Another blessing. Another opportunity to thank God!

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. " Jeremiah 29:11

Wishlist #2

Being the sentimental person that I am, I love pictures. I love how they capture a certain moment, a memory that can be kept for a long time. Maybe it's because I grew up in a family that cherishes having snapshots of different events -- no matter how big or small it may be.

Having said that, siguro yun din ang reason why I really, really want to go into photography. Even when I was just in highschool, I would join photo essay contests because I had this grand dream of being a very good photographer. Hindi ko naman pinangarap maging professional photographer. Gusto ko lang na yung mga snapshots ko will be unique. I want it to translate to how I actually felt while I was capturing the moment.

I can only imagine my husband telling me, "Ang dami mo naman gustong i-pursue". Which, by the way, is true. I want to pursue my writing, having a business of our own, be the bassist of our music ministry, and of course photography. I can't say na fickle-minded ako that's why ang dami kong gustong gawin. It's just over the years, I get to remember the things that I really want to focus on.

Since photography ang next in line ko, may wish ako na camera. I am not yet familiar with which one is the best. For now, I chose one which is good and one that is light. For wishlist number 2, how I would like to have my own Olympus E420 (with kit siyempre!)

Eto daw ang pinaka-magaang so far na DSLR. I guess this one will be my perfect partner kasi maliit lang ako and having a compact camera is definitely a good choice for me.

Hay....kailan kaya?

Soon. I hope soon.

A man and a half

I just wanted to post this picture because it showcases how our son is growing up well even if he came out one and a half months short of his term. It makes me feel blessed every time I see Dong and Zye. They are truly great men (I mean a great man and a half) I love them so much!

Eavesdropping

A mother-daughter scene at the mall yesterday.

The mom was looking through clothes, trying to pick one that she likes. her daughter was looking at the clothes she's choosing from. She suddenly started walking away from her daughter. Then the daughter says to her mom in a soap-opera type voice:

Daughter: "Why me, when you say the clothes are not bagay to me, I listen to you...why you, you don't listen to me?"

Mom: "Kelan?"

Daughter: "Sometimes..."

The cook that did not win a cooking contest

The much awaited Little David VS. Big David battle has ended. After how many weeks of singing their hearts out, David Cook was crowned this year's American Idol.

Hay salamat, akala ko talaga matatalo siya!

Last night, watching their final showdown, mas umangat talaga si David A. David C. was still good, don't get me wrong. Pero kagabi, biglang nag-step up si David A. And for a moment, I really thought the little David was gonna win the fight.

I guess the "Billy Jean" and "Always be my baby" rendition of David Cook did the thing. Those two songs really stuck in my head because it went really well for him as if it was his own. Oh, to top that, his version of "I don't want to miss a thing" sealed the deal for me. Pero in fairness, David A. gave a very goodfight. In the least six seasons, it was a first to see wto guys in the finals...if my memory serves me right.

It's amazing din how the other finalists seem to really sing well during the finale. Maybe it's because they're no longer nervous. It was so refreshing as well seeing Donna Summer and her so non-diva attitude. Cool niya di ba, sharing her microphone with Syesha because the latter's microphone wasn't working. It was so nice. Carrie Underwood's looking really nice with the way she did her hair and the outfit she was wearing made her look really sexy. And that's on top of her amazing singing voice. Hanep talaga. How I wish ganun ang singing voice ko! (Naks, talagang as if may singing voice to begin with. Fighting spirit!)

I will surely miss my A.I routine every Wednesdays and Thursdays. Okay lang, excited na ako with PDA and Pinoy Idol. Goodluck lang sa akin kasi feeling ko pagsasabayin nila ng timeslot eh.

Sana hindi.

Touchy!

After the stressful week before and after our church's anniversary, I have been longing to have a full body massage. Yesterday, my hubby and I finally got one. A well-deserved treat to ourselves after the physical, mental and emotional stress we've been through. We have tried quite a few spa and home service massage but so far our favorite is the Big Apple Express Spa at SM hypermart Ortigas. Here's a list of why we love having our massage here:

1. More time.
Most of the full body massage, 1 hour talaga. At Big Apple, we love the fact that within 45 minutes, your body is as rejuvenated as it can get. I have nothing against massages that goes beyond 45 minutes. I just love the fact that you get to have more time to do other stuff. Meron din silang package na 1 hour so you can still splurge into a whole hour massage if you want. For me, perfect na yung 45-minute nila.

2. Less can be more.
A 45-minute full body massage with oil costs only 299. That is already a good price considering the service you get.

3. Friendly staff.
From the owner down to the therapist...you will definitely feel the warmth of the people in Big Apple. There have been some spa wherein we did not feel welcome at all, as if wala kaming ibabayad. Dito, it doesn't matter kung matagal ka nang customer or first timer ka. You are all treated with equal warmth and attention.

4. In good hands.
They have really good therapists. I can tell because pumasa sila sa husband ko..hehehe. I mean there are some kasi na when you say light massage, hindi nila nagagawa kasi sobra sa bigat yung kamay. Meron namang iba na pag sinabi mong moderate, hindi rin ma-achieve kasi sobrang gaan naman talaga ng kamay. So far, lahat (and I mean iba-iba talaga) nung nag-massage sa amin, they know well how to shift from light to moderate. That's why you really feel good after the massage. They did it well kasi even if they had just a short time.

There..those are the top things we love about our favorite massage spa. Sayang, I always forget to bring our camera whenever we go for a massage. Next time I'll post some pictures fo you can get a glimpse of the spa.

Until our next appointment.

My things to do

Rocks sent me this one. My only challenge is not to lengthen the list..hehehe.. in real life, I am a to-do-thing person. I don't trust my memory as far as things to do are concerned thus the list. Since it's no longer the first day of the week, I figured to do mine from today until the next Wednesday.

1. Today- update blogs: family blog and personal blog. Go to Nokia care to have my sister's 9300 fixed. Pay electricity and phone bill

2. Thursday - visit/call mall admin of SM, Robinson's Galleria and Ever Ortigas.

3. Friday - blog hop day. Text members for a meeting this Saturday.

4. Saturday - SYSTEM general meeting, echoSYSTEM practice, youth bible study

5. Sunday - go to church; launch the jrS in church

6. Monday (next week) - marketing/advertising of products; Update multiply account

7. Tuesday (next week) - update Zye's digiscrap

Passing this one to other busy bloggers. Let's see your list of things to do: Jhen, Ann and Sujee.

BUSY PEOPLE:1.) my chopsuey 2.) mind bubbles 3.) vanity kit 4.) somethingpurple 5.) a detour 6.) Confessions of a Supermodel Wannabe 7.) Mitch of When Silence Speaks 8.) Hailey's Domain 9.) Hailey's Beats and Bits 10.) Air Sick 11.) Avee's Adventures 12.) Never Ending Stories 13.) Essay of Life 14.) Tasteful Voyage 15.) A mom's note 16.) Jenny and Belle 17.) Chez Francine 18.) Le bric a brac de Cherie 19.) La Place De Cherie 20.) Nora 21.) Just me.. Eds 22.) My Precious 23. In My Kitchen 24. Thoughts Of Me 25. Precious Words 26. My Online Journal 27. My Colorful World 28. Life Together Starts 29. A Housewife's Journal 30. God's gift 31. Through the Rain 32. The adventures of Dong and Jing 33. YOU'RE NEXT HERE

Weekend stories and the hunt for the ultimate broadband

Our weekend was quite exhausting but it was otherwise okay. Saturday was check-up and vaccine day. After Dong's work, we went to the doctor for Zye's measles vaccine and his monthly check-up. He gained only 0.1kg but increased his length from 68cm to 72cm. We were glad that the rain finally stopped Sunday morning because we attended a wedding at Pampanga later that afternoon.

We are still in search of a good, reliable, (if possible) broadband internet provider. My husband and I have already agreed to apply for a bundled landline and DSL with PLDT. Unfortunately when I was about following up the said application, the customer service told me that the bundled promo is not applicable to our existing line. I have absolutely NO IDEA why. The girl just kept on saying, "according to our records, that is not possible". However did it happen that the other customer serice agreed that I apply for the bundled promo and the other was saying the exact opposite. In conclusion, we no longer applied for PLDT's myDSL. So the hunt for the great internet provider is still on.

Have you any idea which one we should get?

Getting there

This is a great way to end the week.....

ENJOY THE WEEKEND EVERYBODY!!!!!!

Inside

This is the thing about love:

that you can never assume
your position in one's life
no matter who you are
or what you stand for

there is no such thing
as being the one, the first or the best
because there are some hurts
that will lead you
to the end of the line
to your own surprise

that the feelings may surpass
and what's left is familiarity
though you can never live
just knowing one well

it may bring scare to
those whose hearts long for more
but it is what love can become
and on such occassions
you would have to rise above it all

...just because you love.

--JDriz 05162008 --

Regarding friendships

(One of my long overdue postings.)

We started out as a group of girls who decided to go for a group study at our home and ended up sharing our lives together. It was a good day, March 23, 1996. And the rest, as they say, was history.
We were nine in the group namely Doll, Glenda, Pat, Donna, Len, Ivy, Tina, Janet, and me. Pero nung nag-start na yung next school year nadagdagan kami ng two boys namely Raymond and Darryl. But over the years the bonding was mostly among the girls.
During our first year in college, we belonged to different cliques. Glenda, Ivy and I belonged to a group called Onse consisting of 5 girls and 6 boys. Doll and Len were partners in crime during the first semester of the school year tapos nadagdag sa kanila si Pat when the second semester came. Sila Tina and Donna naman ang partners in crime whom we met nung nag-second semester. Janet was a stand alone, not belonging to any particular group but were friends with almost all of us.

It’s not exactly clear how we all got to be one group at kung paano kami nagkayayaan mag-group study. All I know for a fact is that I am blessed to have met these ladies. Truth is, hindi kami madalas umalis but we still manage to update ourselves with what’s going on with each others life. Ewan ko ba. Whenever we plan on going out, we either end up postponing or canceling it dahil sa mga last minute “something came up” excuses. Ang lagi lang tuloy nagkikita-kita ay ang mga “promoter”: Me, Doll, Glenda and Pat.

Last March 29, 2008, we all got together for Doll’s despedida party. Since may mga prior commitments yung iba and some will be going home to their provinces, we have set an early lunch date. Amazingly, almost complete kami. I think by far eto yung well attended na gathering ng group. Donna was the first one to arrive, followed by me, then Glenda. Tina came with her husband Ruben and son JP. Next who came were Doll, then Pat and her husband Clarence. Last to come in was Donna’s husband Alison (not sure sa spelling..sorry Donna!). Sayang, my husband Dong had work so sha lang ang partner na di nakapunta. Ivy and Len wasn’t able to make it while Janet was no longer living here so Malabo talaga sha makapunta.
Being with them was like reminiscing those wonderful college years - full of fond memories, funny moments and sad experiences. Hindi kami matapos sa kakatawa sa mga kababawan naming. Yung mga tantrums kapag gutom, petty quarrels because of photocopied notes, Enchanted Kingdom secret….haay..sobrang dami.
The greatest thing about our friendship is that we know it’s gonna go for the books. It’ll be shared until our gray-haired days, our kids being friends with each other, sharing reunions probably… 12 years together and counting…I thank God for every remembrance of them.

This is it..finally!

Hay! Sa wakas! After quite a long time of pondering...I finally decided to how about with my personal blog. First of all, I decided that this blog will no longer be pure english. It will be written in the way I want it to be. In short, dependent sa mood ko. I figured that for me to be able to keep in touch with my personal insights, I must be able to express myself the way I want to. So, there..one burden is gone. Second, I figured that since this is my own outlet, I'd be talking about things other than my family. Well, it doesn't mean that they are not part of my personal life. I just thought that I'll contain the family kwentos sa aming family blog and then lahat ng iba, dito na lang. Para naman yung mga taong magbabasa ng blog ko, hindi naman ma-overdose sa family stories. Hehehe.

Topic wise, since I'm not going to talk about my husband, our kid, or our families, then all my other concerns in life will be written here. That means my friends, my work (or former work), poems, hobbies, personal rant and raves, opinion, wishlist, movie and food reviews. Ayan, at least concrete na ang idea ko as to how I would like to run this blog of mine.

Pinaghirapan ko pa naman yung blog name and header ko tapos hindi ko pag-aabalahan ng panaho itong blog na ito Naman! Sayang ang efforts!

Mr. Congeniality

If there's one thing that my husband and I are happy about, it's our son being so people-friendly. Even during his first few months in this world, we have observed how he cries whenever he doesn't hear people talking and how a rowdy bunch would put him into sleep. He doesn't get irritated with noise. He loves it when we have visitors and how it amazes us that at an early stage in his life, he finds it amusing to listen to people whenever they are talking (hmm..chismoso? hahaha)

Well, last Sunday, we were thinking of buying him his walker. We were not so sure if it's time to buy him one since he still wobbles whenever sitting. So what we did was let him sit on one and see if he'd be able to sit alone. Unfortunately, we fear that he might end up bashing his head on the walker so we decided to put off the buying until his 8th month. The nicest thing about this experience is that our son found a new friend....

THE LION KING. hehehe...

Weekend Snapshots

Bloggers around the World

Joining Pat on this flight.

Let all the bloggers around the globe come together in unity by blog linking. All you have to do is add your name to the list. Don’t forget to specify the country where you are from and of course, link your name to your respective blog. If you have two or more blogs, add and link ‘em all. Then invite 8 or more bloggers to do the same. Here we go!Julia from Philippines, Catherine from Malaysia, Shi from USA, Mitch from Philippines, Hailey from Philippines, Sexymom from USA, Liza from Philippines, Sasha from Philippines, Thess from Netherlands, Marie from Philippines, mind bubbles from USA, Evi from Canada, Christine - Marikit from AU. Christine - Strawberrygurl from AU, Mel’s Untamed World from PH, Mel’s Uncensored Life from PH, vanity kit from USA, something purple from USA, em’s detour from USA, Sassy Finds from Philippines My Charmed Life from Philippines, Mommyhood and Me from Philippines, Changing Lanes from Philippines, Pit Stop from Philippines, Shopaholic Ties The Knot from Philippines, The Adventures of Dong and Jing from Philippines,Jown's Brewery from Philippines,(next passenger here).

Hop on Happy, Maybelle, Sweetpea, Sexymom, Ev, Rocks, Sujee, Mari and all n@wie bloggers.

Post Mother's Day

I never thought that becoming a mom can be more challenging than developing a software program for a very demanding client.

But it is.

I mean, you get the assignment of being a mother by carrying your child for nine months and delivering the kid into this world either through a challenging conventional normal method or through a painful C-section. And the job doesn't end there. You nurse your child, care for him until his growing years, guide him through his adolescent years, support him in his dreams and push him to be his best as he face the challenges of the universe. Sometimes, you'd have to help him heal his heart if it becomes broken.

Now who will dare say that the word "mother" is just a title when the truth is it is an experience that those who have a faint heart cannot try.

Thank God my heart is not as faint as it is. I'm glad that no matter how bruised my heart has been at one point in my life, it found it's way to healing and allowed me to have more love to share.

The joy of being a mom is being able to love unconditionally.

Thanks Joanne for this greeting. I'm simply passing this on as a salute to all the mommies who will be passing by this site. With much love to my mom, my lola, my mother-in-law, mommy friends, and my n@wie family.

Three cheers to all those celebrating motherhood!

Hep, Hep, Hooray!
Hep, Hep, Hooray!
Hep, Hep, Hooray!

Hoping to hop

I do apologize for not being able to make my usual rounds to my fellow bloggers. I am still stuck using a dial-up connection (very long story...) which takes about ten years before I am able to get to one site. Add to that my son's afternoon tantrums which is caused by the very humid weather and of course his wanting to just have somebody to play with.

I do hope that the PLDT group will soon do their rounds to check for the availability of DSL in our area (which I suppose is available but they do have to follow standard procedure) and my prayers that soon I will have a faster way of doing my blog hop. In the meantime, I'd have to content myself with reading your comments and posting mine in my own message board just to let you guys know I appreciate all the visits. I will return the favor sooner or later (I wish it'll be soner though!)

Camp Memories

Where have you been?

The last two weeks have been a handful. In between playing with my son and putting him to sleep, I've been busy preparing stuff for our church's recently concluded 20th Anniversary held in Tacligan, Oriental Mindoro. Whew! The whole experience was something else. It was exhausting -- physically and mentally. We'd wake up early, sleep late, walk around the resort the whole day to check on things and people. We'd shout our lungs out to call everybody's attention (we forgot the megaphone...huhuhu) and as if being head of the program committee isn't enough, we still have to prepare ourselves for the other activities since we are included in the music ministry.

So am I complaining? No, just giving you a picture of how tired we were for the past couple of weeks and telling you all that the exhaustion was not anywhere near the satisfaction of hearing people say, "Ang saya nung anniversary ng church natin, noh?". The friendships it created, the memories shared by the church members, the thousands of captured moments were enough to wipe away the headaches we had.

I will post a more detailed chronicle of this wonderful adventure in my personal blog. Our son wasn't with us during the event and we missed him more than ever. He turned 7 months last Sunday, May 4. We weren't able to celebrate this day with him since he was already sleeping when we came home.

Celebrating 20 blessed years for S.T.E.M. Celebrating 7 blessed months for Zye. My heart cannot contain the happiness.